02 October 2018 - 05 October 2018
College Park, Maryland, USA

ForestSAT Entering a New Era in Forest Observation and Analysis

The Association for Forest Spatial Analysis Technologies (ForestSAT) is holding its eighth meeting to provide a forum for discovery and discussion of the latest research in remote sensing and geomatics for forestry applications.

©ForestSAT2018

©ForestSAT2018

ForestSAT is a professional organization dedicated to promoting the application of spatial analysis technologies in forestry and to fostering a quantitative comprehension of how these technologies may be used to map, monitor and model forests and the ecosystem services they provide. ForestSAT aims to facilitate cooperation among research organizations, universities, government agencies, and the private sector.

The biennial ForestSAT conference has emerged as the leading international gathering of researchers, practitioners and stakeholders interested in the development and use of established and emerging technologies for the observation and analysis of forests. ForestSAT2018 marks the eighth meeting of this conference which provides a forum for discovery and discussion of the latest research in remote sensing and geomatics for forestry applications.

Underpinning ForestSAT is the recognition that effective forest management requires the integration of a vast and ever expanding array of spatial data: from multiple remote sensing systems on the ground, in the air and in space, to traditional, field-based forestry information, to biodiversity and habit quality surveys. Furthermore, our ability to predict and plan for changes in forest ecosystem services mandates the inclusion of socio-environmental information and synthesis. ForestSAT stresses the data and tools required to address multiple objectives, such as meeting the needs of local forest managers, informing forest ecosystem models, and monitoring systems in support of international agreements.

ForestSAT 2018 has five thematic areas focused on capturing new observations and approaches in the application of spatial of analysis technologies in forestry: (1) Global forest observation; (2) New approaches to forest ecosystem modeling; (3) Remote sensing fusion; (4) Forest mapping and inventory; (5) Forest Management and Policy.

IIASA's ESM-CLR senior research scholar Dmitry Schepaschenko will be presenting the work on the ESA funded IFBN project with a talk as well as a poster presentation on "Forest-Observation-System.net – towards a global in-situ data repository for biomass datasets validation". Forest monitoring is high on the scientific and political agenda. Global measurements of forest height, biomass and how they change with time are urgently needed as essential climate and ecosystem variables. The Forest Observation System – FOS is an international cooperation to establish a global in-situ forest biomass database to support earth observation and to encourage investment in relevant field-based observations and science. FOS is an open initiative with other networks and teams most welcome to join.

©ScienceDirect


©ForestSAT2018



Text adapted from @ForestSAT2018


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Last edited: 19 July 2018

CONTACT DETAILS

Dmitry Shchepashchenko

Senior Research Scholar Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services Research Group - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program

Senior Research Scholar Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group - Advancing Systems Analysis Program

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International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
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